The many hours of work (and play) have proven to be quite the success. The converted bedroom to playroom seems to be a hit with the Grandlittles along with their parents. The room has apparently become a "meeting place" for everyone in the household as the Grand Princess, Mary Ruth cooks imaginary food for us on her woodstove. Today, we had a lovely meal of strawberry tea, ice cream spin tops, coffee and baked lemons. I admit that it was delightful and the baked lemons were divine! This was a new food for me even in playland. I have never had baked lemons before but it does make me ponder if there is such a recipe. Perhaps MawMaw should check a few cookbooks and perhaps MawMaw can learn a thing or two from the Royal Grand Princess.
Baby Mark especially loved a tiny wooden wagon that held assorted blocks and spin tops. Included in this mishmash of things there are a couple of dreidels. I have no idea where or when I acquired these but the Grand Prince seemed enamored with the things. He seemed to be happy as long as his daddy was spinning the dreidels on the hardwood floor. I did make one rather abrupt discovery with these, though. Dreidels spinning on hardwood floors at 5 am are deafening! Which is rather funny because they are hardly noticeable at 8 am. Same dreidels, same floors.....no discernible noise at midmorning. The Royal Grand Prince thoroughly enjoyed shoving a few of the other toys about the floor until he found a book to eat. Such fun!
All in all, I think the room is a success. Mary Ruth has fully claimed it as "her" room and the contents as "her" toys. She is absolutely right....it is and I would not have it any other way. Now if I can just get her mommy and daddy to take "her" toys back home with them, all would be well! In the meantime, I will breathe a sigh of relief and sit back to enjoy time spent with these beautiful babies!.....oh, and with their parents!
Most of the time in life, we have to settle for things as they are. We can try to make things better but sometimes fate just leaves its mark whenever and wherever it wants. I have come to realize that it is best to accept things and look for the good in them rather than fret over whatever may come. Worrying never accomplishes anything except using up precious time while making ourselves miserable. That said, it does not mean that I am willing to forego trying to improve. We should at least attempt to better ourselves and better our surroundings.
While photographing wildlife is something I truly enjoy, I must admit that my attempts in capturing the true essence of a critter are feeble. This is one area where I will go to extremes in bettering the skill. I am a die-hard at sticking with my old camera. So much so that Mark searches high and low to find replacement parts and even replacement cameras of a type that is no longer on the market. He did this at Christmas. A new flash for one old camera and an exact same model camera as an extra! I was elated....far more than if he had bought me some new-fangled one. But this model camera does have its drawbacks. It does not to well in rapid progression shooting. There is a setting for that but the photographs do not have the clarity that I desire. Then came a bit of ingenuity! I was willing to try an experiment!
Pelicans dominate the scene on the Bayou right now. Their never-ending splashes can be heard even during the night. This makes them easy targets for my practicing. I have long wanted to get a picture of, not only the pelican making a dive, but also the impact when it hits the water. This is hard to do with a slow camera. So.....a brilliant idea was in the brain! Take both cameras! With one dangling around the neck and the other in hand, I waited until the bird was in the downward plunge, snapped a picture, grabbed the other and snapped again! Quick work, several tries but finally success! I got my sequence. One bird, two cameras, two pictures and one good feeling.
